From: "Reggie Bautista" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
I wonder if some of that decline in popularity (of Trek) might have something to do with market saturation. I don't think any other story universes had more than one show on at a time back when DS9 first started (now there are several). And DS9 *was* a pretty big departure from previous Trek incarnations, so a lot of people who thought that you can't have Trek without the Enterprise probably felt that Trek was moving away from their interests, so they decided to move away from Trek. Did you see any talk of that in the fanclub?
Yes, most definitely. That was one of the major topics of discussion: how were fans going to keep the pace with two majorly different shows as TNG/DS9, or DS9/Voyager? And then, if you add the movies, you have to wonder what marketing research specialists are behind giving the green light, or their endorsement, for these projects.
Also, by the time Worf and the Dominion War both got added to the mix, Babylon 5 was up and running full steam, so suddenly Trek wasn't the only space-oriented science fiction choice available on television, so people had something else to get excited about.
I don't think the element of competition had much to do with the slowing down of the popularity of Trek in the mid-90's. After TNG succeeded, we saw a comeback for "Outer Limits", B5, etc. We also had a decent number of Sci-Fi TV shows in the late '60s and early '70s, and they all shared the same fan-base.
However, Trek set itself apart on the demographics that supported it: college students, computer engineers, NASA scientists, Sci-Fi writers.. you know, the average Brin-L membership list. ;-)
But now that you mention it, the addition of *other* Gene Rodenberry products like "Earth: Final Conflict" and "Andromeda", which boast so openly Rodenberry's by-line may have a lot to do with diminishing the credibility of shows like DS9 and Voyager in the eyes of many GR fans. After all, no other Trek production after TNG boasts a direct relationship to Gene.
I think that, had it not been for the influence of Babylon 5, Paramount would have never done a show based on a space station (see my note below on this also).
This leads right back into the question "what is Trek?" If it's a show about going "out there," DS9 still does that in my book, especially once they start exploring the other side of the wormhole on a more regular basis.
You raise a very interesting point. It could be argued, however, that there was one major flaw in regards of turning DS9 into a spaceship-based exploration tv show: the crew of DS9 was created to function *inside* the space station.
Think about it: this show was crafted to work on that level. Odo being the "constable". Sisko, though the man in charge, represents a foreign and sometimes alien government to the Bajorans. The Bajorans, in turn, are still sore from their occupation from the Cardassians. The plot of the show, and its' setup, reads sometimes more like a frontier town, old western story.
This crew was not originally intended to be or interact as a starship crew. Therefore, the characters often seem out of their element when they are put inside a starship. To me, they tend to look out of place and awkward.
And I'm not even going into the quality of the performances from the actors. Maybe other actors, better skilled, could've functioned brilliantly under any circumstances. This would have added some serious credibility to their roles.
I'm certainly not the first to say this, but maybe the network execs at Paramount know that ST fans like that familiarity, and are therefore unwilling to rock the boat with controversial or cutting edge stories, and maybe *that* is why ST popularity has been declining.
Familiarity is certainly a succesful marketing tool. Why do people visit McDonalds or BK? Because they will find that the burgers *always* taste the same. There is no variation. It makes the customers feel safe. That's why fans always return to Trek: they go back because they expect to find certain things that don't change. (Which you well mention, btw).
And if you change our menu, we are very critical of it. But we try it anyway... :)
Again, it's been a long time since I've seen ST5, so I don't remember the specifics. (I'm gonna have to rewatch it just to stay in this discussion!)
Reggie Bautista
Please do!!. I want to hear your comments on it. This thread rocks.
JJ
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